New York City is my first home, but San Francisco ain’t too shabby, either. I probably own 300 lipsticks, and still have a constant urge to purchase more. I have to buy GT’S Gingerade Kombucha every time I see it. I could easily spend $20 at Whole Foods magical salad bar. I am completely and totally addicted to the Bar Method. “Neon” and “glitter” are my favorite colors. I love shopping of any kind – even grocery shopping, especially at Safeway. I could probably eat an entire jar of almond butter in one sitting. I wouldn’t really mind if I ended up a crazy cat lady, I love the furry guys, and dogs too. I sometimes like to imagine that my life would be far more interesting if I lived in Jane Austen’s England, but then remember the burden that is a dowry. I will forever adore Fresh’s “Sugar” fragrance, in any iteration they choose to create. I love to quote Shakespearean poetry. There is nothing better than acupuncture to relax. Sometimes, I eat a can of whipped cream for dinner. In my fantasy life, I would wear Miu Miu from head to toe. And maybe some Thakoon, for good measure. Fresh coconut water is the ultimate thirst quencher. I will never tire of Maroon 5. Or Joni Mitchell. Or Sting & The Police. My favorite zit-zapper is Lavender Essential Oil. I cannot enter a Lulu Lemon store without purchasing a thing, or six. I secretly fantasize about dying my hair pink, a la Charlotte Free. There is nothing more peaceful than an early morning walk by the ocean. I have seen Disney’s Beauty & The Beast so many times that I think I can recite it, line-for-line. I thought I would struggle writing an about me, but I have to say, this was somewhat fun!
Something a Tad More Personal:
I’ve always been a dreamer. Growing up, I stubbornly refused to follow the popular path in my small, east coast town: athletics, academics, and lots of Lily Pulitzer. I was quite miserable at softball, basketball, and lacrosse, paying more attention to how unattractive the uniforms were rather than the fact that the ball was about to hit me in the face. Thankfully, my parents encouraged me to do what I loved, which has and always will be art of some kind, and even foot the bill for me to spend my summers at an eccentric (albeit, overly-expensive) arts camp in the Adirondacks.
Beauty products have captured my adoration and attention since I was little. I like to think that the fascination is embedded in my DNA. I remember sneaking into my mom’s bathroom and creating magical “pretty potions” comprised of Prescriptives Magic Powder (which, by the way, you can now buy online!), Elizabeth Arden’s Gold Ultra Restorative Capsules (so fun to break into), my father’s aftershave, and a slew of other lovely “ingredients”. While my chemistry may have been more than a bit off, I knew one thing: I loved cosmetics, their creation, and most of all, their application.
Makeup artistry gave me a creative outlet to deal with the sudden loss of my father, and I threw myself into creating a legitimate portfolio, traveling from the aforementioned suburban town into New York City almost weekly to work on photo shoots. With the loving support of my incredible family, I was able to build up a professional kit that many twice my age would have been envious of, and a well-rounded book to match.
When it came time to enter college, I knew I had to remain in the New York area. While I was accepted into both Parsons and FIT, I chose instead to attend a liberal arts school where my grandfather had gone, Fordham, which had a beautiful, gated campus situated in the Bronx, as well as a business school where I could really hone my entrepreneurial spirit, and in addition, take courses on the humanities.
What I didn’t realize about Fordham was the huge alumni network they had, from which, I received my first internship in the beauty department at Glamour Magazine. From the moment I stepped into the beauty closet, and got a glimpse of the inner-workings of such a large publication, I realized that there was a place for crazy makeup people like myself.
Following my internship at Glamour, I went on to intern the following summer in the marketing and PR department of Tarte Cosmetics, in addition to working as a freelance artist for the line, and most recently, interned for beauty and health director Eva Chen at Teen Vogue.
Ever since I saw the movie, The Little Princess, as a four or five year old girl, India has captivated my imagination. After taking a course on the culture and religion of Hinduism, I had my mind made up: I would study abroad there. With a booming film industry (Bollywood), an up-and-coming fashion scene, and tons of colorful inspiration, I decided that Mumbai would be the ideal place to spend six months, studying and soaking up as much knowledge about the fabled subcontinent as I could.
I write this “about me” one month into my journey here in India, and so far, I have learned more simply walking around the city than one could ever come to know in the confines of a classroom. While I will admit that it is often times difficult, as I am the only exchange student at my college, taking myself to an unknown place has allowed me to adapt to my surroundings and to realize how many things I had taken for granted. In the next few months, I hope to assist several makeup artists and learn as much about the art of henna as a possibly can, and ideally, complete a one month internship in the beauty department of one of the many high-fashion publications located in this city.
I frequently have, “pinch me, I’m dreaming” moments when I look back at the incredible opportunities that I have been given in my life, but I like to think that many of them are because of my clear, distinct vision of what I want for myself and how I would like to get there. That is not to say that many things have happened that were “off-course”, but these happenings were often lessons in disguise.
Feel free to contact me via email at cbentleymakeup@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @cbentleymakeup, and Tumblr, and I'm totally addicted to Pinterest. My makeup portfolio can be viewed at http://www.bentleymakeup.com.
xx,
Charlotte
